England football legend Michael Owen – now an ambassador for the Qipco British Championship Series – doesn’t require time to consider a response, any more than he needed to mull over how to find the net during his playing days.

He was just 18 when searing past Argentinians Chamot and Ayala to put England 2-1 up in St Etienne 16 years ago, joy ultimately numbed by England’s exit on penalties.

But during Royal Ascot, football – even the World Cup – comes a distant second to horseracing.

“I book Ascot in my diary every year – this is a huge week for us,” explains the 34-year-old, now boss of Manor House Stables in Malpas, Cheshire.

“I’ll be at Ascot for every race, hopefully supporting a few Manor House Stables winners.”

Owen’s order of priorities should surprise nobody. The turf, once a passion, is now his business.

If Brown Panther triumphs under Richard Kingscote in Thursday’s Gold Cup, Owen would be more than just another owner moved to rapture by big-race success.

Owen and Betfair co-founder Andrew Black have paid millions to transform the former arable farm into a bespoke environment for the conditioning of the thoroughbred.

“We’ve got one of the best training facilities in the country already – and we want to be bigger and better,” says Owen, who offered Tom Dascombe the job as resident trainer for the start of the 2010 campaign.